Texas cancer survivor runs marathons for cause

ktrk

By ABC13

KINGSVILLE, TX

He became Mr. March, showing the scar that bisects his abdomen
in the 2012 Colondar, a calendar of people younger than 50 living
with colorectal cancer.

Rojas is one of thousands of people diagnosed annually before
age 50 with colon cancer, and one of 13 this year to reveal battle
wounds in the calendar's pinup photos. The goal is to put a face on
the 63 percent increase in rectal cancers in their age group. It's
produced by The Colon Club, an online resource for people diagnosed
with colorectal cancer.

Each of the Colondar's survivors' scars are reminders of surgery
to remove tumorous parts of their colon.

It has taken Rojas three years to recover after having 19 inches
of his colon removed. It followed weeks of treatments, the
aggressive surgery and the pain, discomfort and lack of bowel
control that trapped him in his office despite regimented diets and
exercise.

"I was going through such a hard time," Rojas said, "I didn't
want anybody else to go through it."

That was when he registered with Get Your Rear in Gear, an
organization that promotes running events to raise money to help
cancer patients lacking medical funds.

Following his wife, Carmen's, encouragement to start walking on
a treadmill in their garage for 20 minutes daily, the couple walked
their first half-marathon in March 2010.

"We finished," Carmen Rojas said. "He finished. I was so
proud of Roger."

Then they jogged the next one, gathering sponsorships and
raising $1,300 for the organization.

Rojas has lost about 80 pounds and has several half-marathons
under his belt -- the most recent was Sunday in San Antonio.

"I hated running in high school," the H.M. King High School
graduate said. "Now it has made a major change in my life."

Cancer runs in his family.

Rojas knew he needed a colonoscopy, he said. His dad had a
benign grapefruit-sized colon tumor, and his aunt died from colon
cancer that had spread into her liver.

However, as age 30 came and went, despite being significantly
overweight, he felt great, Rojas said.

So he put off a checkup.

Two years later, painful constipation led him to the doctor.

Rojas was diagnosed Oct. 7, 2009, with stage III rectal cancer,
the second leading cancer among Hispanic men.

"It taught me to look at life differently," Rojas said, "and
realize that I'm just happy to be here."

Cancer upset his home life.

His oldest son, Frank, 13, freaked out after hearing at school
that people with cancer die.

"It really upset me," Frank said. "I was sad and prayed every
single day, even in school."

His younger brother, Adrian, 8, just knew he couldn't climb on
Daddy anymore. Their sister Cristie, now 4, was an infant, so she
doesn't remember her dad before cancer.

Rojas is in remission, and he remains focused on helping others
with cancer who don't have medical funds.

He receives checkup procedures every three months and tries to
live the creed of the organization he promotes: keeping his rear in
gear, he said.

"My son told me that cancer changed my life," Rojas said.
"And he's right, but not in the way some people might think. It
made me stop and look at my life, and now I live a better life than
I was living."